Be Still And Know

Proverbs 27:4 'Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.' The Bible introduces us to lots of jealous people. Most famous among them are Joseph’s brothers. They were so consumed with jealousy that they even planned to kill their brother. Throughout history, jealousy has destroyed many lives and the writer of Proverbs was fully aware of its terrible power. But jealousy starts slowly and quietly. It begins when we look at someone else and see that they have got something we haven’t. The more we reflect on it, the more we realise that there is no reason why they should have more than us. It isn’t fair, we reason. But, unchecked, those thoughts flower into feelings of jealousy and rage. When I’ve spoken with people in prison, they often trace their crime back to thoughts which started quietly and innocently enough but were allowed to grow into violent actions. If we’re honest we will, from time to time, have little twinges of envy. So the question is: how do we prevent tho